Why I Waited Nine Months To Look At These Street Photos: About My Process

I follow my mentor, Garry Winogrand's advice: I let photos sit for a while after I take them before editing them. In this case, I waited about 9 months. 

It was just another cloudy, drizzly summer day in 2023 in Manhattan. A photo walk cut short when the skies opened up. I was likely a bit frustrated that I couldn't continue shooting, and that these conditions may have affected my attitude towards the relatively few photos that I did take. 

That's why I let them sit: It gives me time to separate the emotions I might have felt when I was shooting and dealing with the actual photos on their merit. By using time to temper my feelings about the experience of taking the pictures, I can approach the editing process cold. Just because I was feeling great when I took a picture doesn't mean it was a good picture. Time is a great way to help sort these things out. 

Unless, of course, it's time-sensitive. Street photography isn't.

In this era when we have the technology at our fingertips to immediately share the photo we just shot with the world, I have two words of advice: S L O W   D O W N!

Otherwise, in your rush to share, you might miss the best shot.